Tangential separator



Jan.s,1929. 1,698,101

M. G. MARTLJNG TANGENTIAL SEPARATOR Filed oct. 18, 1927 ,6W mm;

atroz 11u44/ Patented dan. 8, 1929.

unirse stares MERRIFIELD GRAHAM MARTLING, onrnn UNITED STATES ARMY.

mancini-mien snramiron.

Application, filed october 18, 1927. semi no. 226,9545.

The object of this invention is to provide a simple apparatus forseparat-ing solids, such as sand, gravel, particles ot water, etc., froma Huid, the construction being such that the separating of theparticles-is done continuously and thoroughly while vthe carryingliquidlis in motion, as more fully hereinafter set forth.

In the drawingf i F ig. 1 is a horizontal sectional view ot an apparatusembodying a preferred torni ot my invent-ion;

. F ig. 2 is a vertical sect-ional View von the line 2 2 of Fig. 1.;

Fig. 3 is asectional view of the preliminary separator; o

Figs. 4l, 5 and 6 are detail vertical sectional views of three modifiedforms otl the dis` charging-valves.

Referring to the dra-wing by referencenumerals, 10 designates a tubularconduitI which tapers 'ininternal dimensions :trom approximately itsupper, inlet end, to its lower, outlet end, and which `is in the form ofaconical spiral, the coils gradually decreasing in diameter .toward thelower, outlet end of the tube.

The water or other-fluidV bearing the particlesto be sep-arated isconducted under pressure into the ,upper end of the conduit, said upperend of the conduit being extended laterally a suitable distance to forma convenient linlet portion at 10. To separate out particles that aretoo large for separation by the separating-tube 10, I provide aninclined screen 11 in the inlet part-10, this screen consistingdesirablyof parallel bars, inclining downwardly toward the apparatus, the lowerconduit .wall being provided with an opening 12 which leads to atrap-chamber 13 closed by a valve 11i ot the gate type or any othersuitable type. From time to time, the valve 14C maybe opened to permitthe discharge of accumulated rocks or other foreign substances. At the'entrance-end 10, l provide also a means 'for injecting air or other gasor fluid lighter than the carrying-fluid for the purpose otl increasingthe din'erence between t-lie specilic gravities ot lthe flowing streamand the particles to be separated.V .A simple way ot doing this Vis toprovide the conduit 10 with a hollow ring 15 into which is conducted, bya pipe16, compressed air or other iluid, jet openings 17 being'providedin the conduit 10 to permit the air to jet into theiniiowing stream inthe form of nu-V merous jets, to thereby intimately mix therair or otherfluid with the carrying-fluid. luthierway, the specific gravity of thepartic'lesqcan ried by the fluid relative to the flowing stream as awhole is increased, with the result that the subsequentcentrifugal-tangential sepa*-k torate l prefer lalso stopping this. rowot perorat-ions at about point y/ shown in F ig. 1, asbeyo-nd this point1/ the conduit isenlarged gradually in conical form, as shown at' 19,for 'I a purpose hereinafter set forth. j u

As vwill be obvious, the swirlingnaction tial forces which tend to throwthe solidparticles carried by the tluid out against theouter wall of theconduit. As the particles pass the openings 18, they will be thrown outthrough said openings by centrifugal and tangential forces. Since theheavier particles are more subject 'to these forces than the lighterparticles, the heavier particles will be discharged ygiven to the fluidas passes downandaround v the conduit sets up centrifugalV andtangenthrough the openings first, and then, as Athe stream progresses,the lighter particles will iinally reach the outer wall and be likewisedischarged. rlhe holes are not graduated in size, the separation whichtakes place is not dependent entirely upon size, but more particularlyupon specilic gravity. The question of sizeof the pertorations relativeto the size of the separated material is not a material one, so far asmy invention is' concerned. All that is Vnecessary is to providev theouter wall with perforations suiliciently large to permit the largestparticlesthatget by the screen 11 toibo discharged through theseperitorations. By reason of the gradvualreduction in cross-sectionalarea of the conduit and also the gradualreduction' inthe diameter ot thecoils ot the spiral, the speed of the fluid is Vincreased and also itstangential velocity is increased, with the resultthat the centritugal`and ytangential forces Vare gradually increased toward the discharge?.

end of the conduit, wherebyrthe separating Y therein.

action toward the discharge-endis so ,greatly augmented, as comparedwith the upper end of the conduit, that the lighter or smaller particlesflowing in the fluid are discharged through the openings 18. In thisway, I am enabled to extract from the moving stream all the foreign',solid substances suspended For the purpose of facilitating the dischargeof the foreignA particles at numerous points throughout the length ofthe conduit,

i I provide-still-fluid chambers thronghoutthe the outer wall oftheconduit.

'may be emptied from time to time in any suitlength of the conduit.These chambers may be formed by a series of radial partitions 20,

l an outer shell 21, an inner shell 22 and bottom fluid pockets,therefore, materially assist in` the discharge from the conduit of thesolid particles as they are carried alongagainst These pockets ablemanner. I Vshow a simple form of sliding gate 24 in Figs. 1 and 2, but Imay employ instead such devices as are shown in Figs. 4, 5-and 6. InFig. 4;, I provide a trap-chamber 25 outside'of the gate 24 and providethis trap-chamber with a gate-valve 26 this structure is advantageousbecause the contents of 'the chamber may be discharged WithoutV stoppingthe operation of the machine or interfering with its operation. In Fig.5, I show a weighted 'valve 27 for closing the outlet of the chamber; byproperly adjusting the weight, this valve may be adapted to dump thecollected material automatically. In

Fig. 6, I show a discharge-pipe 28 provided with an ordinarydischarge-valve 29.A

`As stated above, I leave more or less of the outer wall of theuppermost coil ofthe conduit imperforate; I- do this in order thatbefore' the stream reaches any of the dischargeopenings 18, the solidparticles carried by the stream will have an opportunity of beingsubjected to the centrifugal and tangential forces sufficiently to havereached the outer wall of the conduit. AThe heavier particles will-reach this outer wall very quickly, while Vthe lighter particlescarried by the stream will take more time for yielding to thecentrifugal and tangential forces. The sepa- Y rated materialwillnaturally be graded as to size, since the larger particles are inpracti- VVcally all instances the heavier ones and they therefore willbe deposited in the uppen chambers of the apparatus. My prime purpose,however, is to provide in a simple apparatus-a method and machine thatwill not only separate the easily-separated particles, namely, theheavier particles, but also the very light particles which are more orless impalpable and therefore require to be subjected to greatertangential and centrifugal forces for their separation. As heretoforestated, the delivery-end'lQ of the conduit is shaped to provide anexpansionV tube in the form of a truncated pyramid or cone with thelarger cross-sectional area at the discharge end; this is highlydesirable for the reason that it reduces the back pressure which arestricted discharge-end would otherwise cause.

In'accordance with the provisions ofthe patent statutes, I have hereindescribed the principle of operation of my invention, together with theapparatus which I now consider to represent the best embodimentsthereof, but I desire to have it understood that the apparatus disclosedis only illustrative and that the invention can be carried out by othermeans. Also, rwhile it is designed to use the various features andelements in the combina.-

tions and relations described, some of vthese maybe altered and othersomitted and some of the features of each modification may be embodied inthe others without interfering with the more `general results outlined,and the invention extends to such use.

What I claim as new is:

1.In a separating apparatus, a conduit in the form of a conical spiral,the outer wall of said conduit being perforated at intervals along itslength and the interior of said conduit tapering toward itseXit-end, aplurality of still-Huid pockets being arranged along the length of theconduit, each in communication with the conduit through saidperforations.

2. In a fluid separating apparatus, a conduit tapering interiorly towardits exit-end, this conduit being in the form of a helix whose coilsgradually decrease in size toward the exit-end, the outer wall of saidconduit being perforated at intervals along its length, and a series ofclosed chambers arranged along the length of the conduit incommunication with the perforations in the conduit, each chamberbeingprovided with a separate discharging means. f

3. In a fluidV separating apparatus, an outer casing, an inner casing, aspiral conduit asduit in the form of a conical spiral, the coils theseparated particles ejected through said decreasing in size toward theexiteend of the openings by the tangential and lcentrifugal conduit, theouter Wall of said conduit being forces. 10 provided with openingsatintervals along -itS In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my 5 lengthand the interior diameter of said consignature.

duit tapering toward its exit-end, and means 'communicating with saidopenings to receive MERRIFELD GRAHAM MARTLING-

